Passing Time
by kuraiame16
Summary: These are the side stories from my story Twisted Path.
1. Peaceful

**A/N: Hello. These are side stories from Twisted Path. I might add some other character perspectives but don't count on it, M'kay? Anyways, I hope you enjoy this.**

**Important Notice:**

*From now on I will be updating Twisted Path every two weeks at the very least.

*I have changed my account name from hikariyuki16 to kuraiame16 and I'm really sorry if it somehow causes any inconvenience.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: Peaceful**

"What is this?" Ikoru asked, eyeing the circular dish warily.

"It's pizza." Kimiko answered.

"Pizza? Never heard of it."

"Shocker."

"What's that supposed to mean-"

"It smells great Kimiko-chan." Haru intervened before either could begin another bickering war. "What's on it?"

"Cheese, tomato, basil, other stuff."

"Cheese and tomato?" Ikoru scrunched up his nose. "I knew this stupid picnic idea of yours was a bad idea."

"Relax. I knew this would have been too vegan for you so I made you something else instead."

"What's a vegan?"

"Nevermind. Here, just eat this." Kimiko said, reaching into the basket and handing him a piece of meat between lettuce, tomato, cheese, and two buns.

"The hell is that?"

"I call it a cheese burger. Now bask in its glory and eat it." She glared at the look on his face. "My kami, I've seen three year-olds less judgemental than you."

"That's because they're three and they don't know anything. This could be poisoned for all I know." He shot back.

"Hey guys," Haru laughed nervously in a vain attempt to lighten the mood. "I thought we all came here for a relaxing picnic down by the-"

"Shut up Haru." They both snarled in unison.

"Right, cause my ultimate scheme is to poison my teammate. Why can't you just appreciate the fact that I went through the effort to feed all of us and eat what I made? You're such a baby."

"Because frankly, it looks pretty damn unappetizing. Couldn't you have just made normal food?"

"If your suggesting Tsukiyaki again, I'd like to remind you not everyone is obsessed with it like you are."

"Like you can talk! You eat ramen everyday, glutton!"

"At least I can eat a pickled plum without looking like I'm about to hurl."

"At least I can look at a spider without shrieking like a little girl!"

"I am a girl, dumbass!"

"Really? Could've fooled me. I thought you were your younger brother."

"Princess!" She shoved him hard.

He shoved her back. "Neat freak!"

"Negative Nancy!"

"Who the hell is Nancy, you psychopath!"

"It's just a saying dammit, you grumpy looking jerk!"

"Ramen addicted fatass!"

"Guys, the lake's-" Haru warned.

There was the sound of a splash.

"-right behind you." He sighed.

So much for peaceful.

* * *

**A/N:** **I will be updating Twisted Path: Chapter 3 sometime this Sunday.**


	2. Weird Uchiha Children

**A/N: 'Sup? Just in case you're curious, I've actually put stuff on my profile. It's not completely finished yet but it's got some information on it like the final updating schedule for Twisted Path. That's all I have for this Author's Note for now so please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: Weird Uchiha Children**

"Nee-san-"

"Nee-chan. None of our clan members nor anybody who matters is around so therefore you call me nee-chan."

"Nee-chan, are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked, referring to the fact that they were hidden in a tree and she was busying herself by setting up a trap of all things.

"Relax otouto, I assure you this is safe."

"But is it a good idea?"

"Probably not but that stupid fangirl of yours purposely stepped in that puddle which got my favorite book all wet and you know it. She's lucky to get a prank so merciful."

Merciful? What other pranks could she have planned?

Itachi sighed before eyeing the contents besides her wearily. "How were you even able to obtain those particular supplies?"

"I explained it all to Kushina-chan and she helped me out, not to mention she was pleasingly encouraging too." Kimiko replied, dumping a miniature bucket of large, assorted bugs into the thin-holed net.

A few seconds passed before Itachi spoke in a warning. "She's coming."

Kimiko grinned. Just as planned.

The target moved.

The string was pulled.

A blood curling shriek was heard.

And one Uchiha watched several moments in satisfaction before grabbing her brother and fleeing unseen.

Kimiko laughed as she retold the story. "It was great Kushina-chan, you should have seen her panicking! Ah, this definitely makes up for the loss of my book."

"Thank kami I stumbled upon a fun Uchiha for a change." Kushina commented in response before changing to a more wistful tone. "I remember my first prank. Yours wasn't the first revenge prank I'd recommend but it was still ok."

Itachi merely ignored then and continued to munch on his reward dango for even coming with them.

"Oh? You taught a little girl to prank, Kushina?" A boisterous voice from behind interrupted and they both turned.

Kimiko looked up in surprise. There in front of them was...

The Legendary Perverted Sage.

"I wonder what your parents would have to say to this, little girl." Jiraiya turned his gaze towards her.

"Sure, if you wanna be the one talking to Fugaku and Mikoto-chan." Kushina snorted into her tea.

Jiraiya gave a surprised grunt and inched his face closer to her's in a scrutinizing inspection before finally taking notice of the quiet Itachi in the corner. "These two are the Uchiha twins?"

"Yep." Kimiko chirped. "And as a response to your earlier curiosity, I in return wonder what that blonde teammate of yours would say, or rather do, if I happened to mention I saw you peeping on her the other day." She commented casually, twirling the empty dango stick between her fingers.

All three of them stared at her in surprise before Kushina smothered a snicker as Itachi gave another sigh and went back to his dango.

In situations like these the best way not to get dragged in was to remain silent.

"Is that a threat?" Jiraiya sputtered.

"Well if I were to tell you that our silence would be kept through a few more plates of dango I'd define it with the more accurate definition of blackmail."

Jiraiya stared in disbelief for a few more moments before grumbling and slapping down several bills on the table. "Great, more weird Uchiha children." He sighed.

Kimiko merely grinned. "What can I say, normal's overrated."

Ah, being able to outsmart an adult at the age of five was such a nice feeling.

Even if she was mentally seventeen.

Or did the extra five year technically make her mentally twenty-two now?

Hm...

* * *

**A/N: Until next time.**

**~kuraiame16**


	3. Kakashi

**A/N: **I am so, so sorry about the extremely late update for Twisted Path. I had a lot of trouble with the editing of that chapter and I've been really busy lately with sports, homework and you know, social life and all that jazz. Although that's no excuse for my month late update. Again, really sorry.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Kakashi**

Rain is pouring down again as he walks towards the memorial stone, newly acquired umbrella in his hand for the first time.

It's not completely out of the ordinary to find her there before him but he's still getting used to it.

Before her, it was always just him.

Her eyes are closed as he walks up without a word like he always does, she the same.

"Nice to see you have an umbrella this time, Kakashi." Kimiko says with now open eyes, a hint of teasing and mockery mixed into her voice.

He dips his head in acknowledgement. "Ah."

In his many years of Anbu, he never would have imagined that not only one, but rather two Uchiha who weren't even teenagers yet would join Anbu.

Some students were either fresh or not even out of academy these days at that age.

He wasn't sure how to react to seeing what the offspring of the Uchiha clan were capable of.

Kakashi had spent his fair share of time around Itachi. On duty, off duty, missions, there was virtually no change. His personality was generally all the same.

Peaceful and subtle were good word to describe him.

Then there was his sister, Kimiko, who was in all honesty, very strange compared to typical shinobi standards.

Her eyes held a different type of wisdom from her brother. A wisdom that was hard to place.

Sometimes she seemed wiser than Itachi and many other elder shinobi but at the same time, she didn't.

Unlike most Uchiha, this one smiled quite a bit.

But sometimes, there was something off about those smiles that he just couldn't recognize.

This one occasionally laughed, joked, and was overly generous towards the citizens of Konoha.

She even befriended his sensei's son.

This Uchiha was always busy.

It was rare to see her go a day without training.

But unlike her brother, this one was different on missions. Everything that wasn't idle chatter was serious. Whenever he caught a look at her eyes, the were cold, dark.

It was unsettling to see that look on a child so young, even if her eyes seemed to hold one years older than herself.

Especially a child that was able to calmly wipe blood on her pants like it was water.

"The next step is dressing more appropriately." Kimiko's voice interrupts, breaking the silence along with snapping him out of his train of thought. "You don't have a god's immune system you know."

"You aren't exactly appropriately dressed either. And if I recall correctly, you weren't the first time as well." Kakashi argues in a referral to when she wore her thin sleeved top beneath her Jonin's vest.

"But I had an umbrella last time, you didn't. And I'm talking aside from when we wear our Anbu gear. If it was raining on your day off you'd still be dressed poorly."

He doesn't bother defending himself on that because he knows just as well as she does that what she says is true. "It still counts."

She snorts at him. "Don't be ridiculous Kakashi," her tone lets him know that she's just being playful. "I'm an Uchiha. Uchiha's don't catch these colds you lowly commoners speak of."

He blinks and gives her a strange look, voicing his thoughts. "You're very strange for an Uchiha heiress."

Her lips quirk in wry amusement.

"Strange? Usually people just use the word weird."

"I suppose they do."

Yes, this one was a strange one but she was a presence he didn't mind.

_"Choo!"_

The sudden sound is so quiet that if he had normal and untrained ears, he would have missed it. Kakashi turns to her, who was staring at the memorial stone, poker faced as if nothing had happened.

"Do Uchihas still not catch colds?"

"...Silence yourself, you lowly commoner."

* * *

**A/N: **So what'd you think? Could you call it a somewhat decent interlude? The recent weather's been rain. Love it when I'm indoors. Nice inspiration for this chapter too.

Also, I just started club volleyball which takes up three days of my week so expect updates to take 5 weeks at the very least.

I hope you all like the new chapter and continue to enjoy my story!

~kuraiame16


	4. Kasao Uchiha

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**

**Chapter 4: Kasao Uchiha**

* * *

The heiress to the clan was an oddity in many different ways.

Kasao had been alive for quite a while. Long enough to be considered venerable, long enough to be given the title of clan elder.

But not long enough to only be good for opinion, decisions, and input.

He had seen many things in his several decades of living, but it had been a very long while since he had found something that interested him.

When it had been announced that the eldest Uchiha conceived thirteen years ago on June ninth was female, there had indeed been a few complaints and grumbles. After all, out of the many leaders of the Uchiha, none had ever been female.

But this was not like the olden times, where only men served on the battlefield. This was the present, and the two twins conceived by Mikoto Uchiha, both male and female, turned out to be prodigies.

Itachi and Kimiko Uchiha.

As it turned out, one of those two children would grow to interest him greatly.

.

* * *

.

Four.

There's nothing special about them, excluding their slightly above average intelligence.

As he's observed during a few of their birthday parties, both are quiet, polite, and obedient.

The girl is a little more lively than the boy and the boy seems to have a little more wisdom than the girl.

It'll be something worth seeing if the girl comes to lead the clan.

.

* * *

.

Seven.

Outside of their clan related contact, he meets her for the first time.

Dust, ashes, and scorch marks are everywhere.

He looks around and spots her staring at the lake ahead. Not composed or serenely but beyond frustrated and angry.

Kasao had heard her brother mastered it over two weeks ago. Had she not done so by now?

He watches her attempt the great fire ball jutsu again and in a flurry of seals, only a puff of fire and lots of smoke erupt from her mouth.

She hacks and coughs quite a bit. When she rises, she looks like she's going to scream and he's about to interrupt but stops due to startle when she slams her hands into her face with an echoing smack.

She breathes three times before removing her hands and flopping down into a sitting position with her legs crossed.

Her hands interlock, covering her mouth. There's a look of deep concentration on her face.

He leaves silently with a small upward curve at each end of his lips.

Strange girl.

Perhaps she'd be worth glancing at when she learned that jutsu.

.

* * *

.

Together, they rise through the ranks.

Genin. Chunin. Jonin. Anbu.

They made genin together and it was assumed they would do the same for chunin and onward but... well, when she participates in the Chunin exams without her brother, it is quite unexpected.

That's not what catches his attention though, her final battle in the Chunin exams is what sparks his curiosity in her.

Kasao would be lying if he said that his eyebrows didn't rise in mild surprise and his lips hadn't twitched into a smile when the elders faces morphed into shocked and bewilderment.

And that's when he, and the rest of the clan realized, she was not the epitome of the Uchiha like they had thought her to be.

Personally, he though this was an interesting development. It was also confusing, bringing up the question.

Was she always like this outside the clan?

However, while he became curious, the clan became unsettled.

With elders ready to chew her out, to make their doubt of having a reckless Uchiha be heiress clear, she lets loose a surprise.

"I actually have something important to report, if you don't mind me speaking first. I... I think that...although I'm not sure when though..."

She blinks and lets her eyes finish her sentence.

She, a female Uchiha, has unlocked her sharingan.

The news is spread quick and their doubt is somewhat countered by a new source of pride but although not as severely as before, they are still not entirely pleased by her performance.

Still she promises to do well, and with the rate she's rising at she'll be well above expected standards.

And if he has known more about her, he would have known that the uncertain act was fake. He also would have know her announcement was withheld and planned.

.

* * *

.

Kasao finds her lying on the ground next to the lake. There are many scorch marks across the grass.

She looks bored.

She takes notice of him, stands up quick, and bows. "Kasao-sama, I was just taking a short rest from training. May I ask what brings you here?"

"I'm just wandering. I trust your training is going well?"

"It is. I assure you I'll be at a higher standard within the given time."

''Good, good... How are you?"

The confusion is dismissed just as quickly as it appears and she answers without skipping a beat. "I am fine. And you?"

"I am well."

"Kasao-sama, Jin-sama has requested you."

He turns his head to the bowing messenger's call. "I see. I'll be on my way."

He looks back to the heiress. "Take care."

She gives her the last truly serene smile he'll see for a long time.

.

* * *

.

She becomes jonin sometime during her last few months of being ten years-old.

So young...

The clan develops more pride.

He feels uncertain.

.

* * *

.

Ten.

When he and the others read her mission report, consisting of the loss of one of their own and the Jonin instructor, he was honesty surprised she had not gained her mangekyo, considering her sharingan was fully matured.

There was no change in her expression, no key emotion revealed in her eyes, no noticeable movement in her figure. She answered their question as she did with any other question they asked and then cluelessly inquired what they meant.

If he hadn't surveiled her closer than others during her ten years of life, he would've have thought her to be truly heartless.

But he had surveiled her closely and he wondered.

But like every other clan member, he held his suspicions.

And like every other clan member, no one questioned her.

.

* * *

.

She's begun hanging around the Kyuubi boy.

For many different reasons, the clan heiress herself can't be hanging around that vessel so freely.

Her father sticks up for her as best as he can though and he does as well.

"Haven't you seen? Most of village favors her, she's ensured that they do. I doubt she'll be giving them ideas."

Another clan member changes the tides.

"Wait, we can make this work in our favor. The boy is still young and lacks control." He points out.

Kasao feels dread pool up in his stomach. _Surely he wasn't..._

"When the time is right, we can use him."

"But to cause such a disaster. It will only lead to-" Kasao tries to argues.

"Why hold back against an enemy? If we are to win, we must go by any means necessary and use whatever power available." He leers at the others, standing tall. "Just us and victory is doubtable. With _it_, victory is ensured and the Uchiha will take their rightful place as rulers of the village just as the Senju did."

Murmurs of agreement.

He's unable to read Fugaku's face.

"This plan is only for the higher ups and a selected few for now."

.

* * *

.

On his daily morning walk, he meets her again.

The bridge he usually walks across is under construction, redirecting him from his usual path. It can't be helped.

He spots her vest clad back at the cemetery. Her hair's loose as it usually is and she appears to be in a state of melancholy. There are many different colored flowers in her hand.

Red, yellow, purple, and white.

He watches her take one, put it down, and move on to the next grave.

She's left with three when she leaves without noticing him.

He starts walking again and takes a look at each grave.

A red rose for Ikoru Uchiha.

A white lily for Kozu Sugioka.

_This girl... She cared for them clearly... her lack of sorrow as shown had been a facade... was she really telling the truth or had she really not in felt their deaths?_

A purple lily for Rin Nohara.

He frowned.

_Rin Nohara? He had heard of that name... wasn't that... the girl the Hatake boy had killed? That was over a decade ago though... Perhaps a gesture out of empathy for the Hatake boy?_

He sighs and moves on to continue following her to the memorial stone. She's long gone but he observes her remains.

A red, yellow, and purple lily.

For whom? He doesn't know.

.

* * *

.

He reclines in his seat, waiting for the beginning of the upcoming spar.

It was always a good thing to be up to date with the development of the children in the clan and to test their skills, every now and then they would be pitted against each other in a spar.

It's a battle between daughters. Kaijo's, a well known man being second in command of the police force and all, and Fugaku's, police chief and clan head.

Kimiko Uchiha is already on the field, waiting patiently.

"Fugaku-sama, I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

A few heads turn towards Kaijo and confusion settles amongst them when the child in tow is indeed not a female.

"Kaijo, where is Hinoe?"

Kaijo smiles apologetically. "I'm sorry to say but as of an hour ago, Hinoe fell sick with the flu. I didn't want to disappoint, so I brought my son, Kazuma, with me instead. Is that alright?"

_Ah, he's brought pride to the table._

Fugaku nods. "My daughter can handle your son just fine. This will be a good test to see if Kazuma can apply for jonin."

He leans forward and watches Kazuma walk to center. That boy is fifteen, if he can recall. Four years is quite an age gap.

"Begin!"

Kazuma immediately begins with ninjutsu, a fireball heading straight towards her.

Kimiko's forced to jump back. Her water trumpet may have been past the level of distraction only, but it still wasn't anywhere near strong enough to stop a decently sized fireball.

Six shuriken are thrown and all are blocked. She surges forward and they clash for a bit.

He analyzes them. She has the upper hand in speed but he's twice her size, making each blow heavier than hers.

_Kick. Block. Punch. Swing. Dodge._

She grabs a kunai hurriedly when he slashes at her with a sword.

Now it's metal against metal, slamming against each other. Exchange after exchange creating sparks which fly through the air.

Then they meet equally and tremble against each others strength but she loses ground as he pushes her back.

He sees Kazuma smirk and lean in a little, whispering something unbearable into Kimiko's ear.

Whatever it is that he's said, it's the sentence that determines the end of the battle.

Because when his mouth closes, her eyes open.

Red and black eyes with three tomoe matching his.

But her version holds anger.

Kasao leans in closer with newfound engrossment. She was finally going to fight seriously.

Suddenly, her moves are faster, her strikes harder. Unlike before, she's not giving him anytime to react or make a countermove.

But it looked like she was going to put in a lot more effort than required of a spar.

His sword flies into the air and she jumps up in a backwards spin, her heel connects with the handle of the blade and a dull thud is heard when it hits the ground.

Ending it swiftly, she pushes him to the ground, a kunai pointed so close to his throat a single movement would lead to puncture.

His eyes are wide, the bloody gash across his shoulder is staining the grass.

Kasao clicks his tongue in disappointment, that fight could have lasted longer if the boy hadn't been cocky.

Her lips move silently before she puts her weapon away calmly and grabs the hand connected to his uninjured arm, hefting him up. She turns and begins walking towards Kaijo's father, who has a mixture of surprise and shame on his face.

"Your son was a very worthy opponent, thank you for granting me the opportunity to face him in battle. Give Hinoe my best wishes." Another bow and she moves towards her father for praise.

Kasao watches her give a final glance towards Kazuma and he wishes he could hear the words unknowingly replaying in the boy's mind.

_"If only the weak die, keep in mind that I'll live forever."_

.

* * *

.

"Would you like some tea?"

She looks up at him from her paperwork by the tree.

There's a bit of surprise and her tone is polite, but not overly polite like it used to be.

"Tea? What kind?"

"Jasmine."

She pauses, consideration taking up a few seconds, and answers. "That sounds pleasing."

He eases into his seat and they start off with a normal conversation.

"How is it working in the police force?"

He assumes he's asked the right question because her shoulders take a break from being tense and she seems to relax.

"It's a little busy but I'm managing."

"Don't let it overwhelm you."

"I won't, Kasao-sama."

He takes a sip. "While your here, I have something to ask you."

"Yes?"

"Do you still believe that you can fix the ties between our clan and the village?"

.

* * *

.

Thirteen.

The clan's at the highest state of turmoil it's ever been in and they're not sure what to do with her. After all, she's the heiress, the next leader of this clan, she's not vital but she's important.

She attends every clan meeting, she's joined the Uchiha's police force, she wears the Uchiha crest proudly on her clothes.

But she's expressed her feelings about the village, she's joined Konoha's Anbu, she wears Konoha's headband proudly around her forehead.

Most of them choose to believe that in the right moment, she'll put the clan first like she's supposed to.

The others are concerned about her current position, opinion, and that uncertain choice she's going to have to make.

.

* * *

.

Personally, he doesn't want a war.

He's seen war, he experienced war, he knows war.

He knows exactly what will happen and he does not want it.

And he knows she doesn't want it either.

Who's side is she on? Which side will she choose?

He doesn't know and wonders.

He'll have to wait and find out.

.

* * *

.

**A/N: Stayed up past 11 to get this edited and out. I'm so tired~ I'm really sorry if you guys find any errors. If you point 'em out I'll do my best to fix them.**

**Doing my best with Twisted Path. It's a tricky chapter. **

**Take care everybody!**


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